Turning Self-Limiting Beliefs into Liberating Ones
What does it mean to turn self-limiting beliefs into liberating ones??
Turning self-limiting beliefs into liberating ones means that you are replacing negative, unhelpful beliefs with positive, empowering beliefs. For example, replacing the belief “I’m not good enough” with “I am capable of achieving my goals”. This can help to open up opportunities and possibilities that were previously not considered. It can also help to increase confidence and self-esteem, leading to a more fulfilling and successful life.?
Understanding and recognising our beliefs.?
Self-limiting beliefs are thoughts and mental habits that limit our potential and hold us back from achieving our goals. They are usually formed in childhood but can be reinforced in adulthood.??
Examples of self-limiting beliefs include:?
To understand and recognise self-limiting beliefs, you need to become aware of the thoughts you have and the stories you tell yourself. Pay attention to the negative and pessimistic things you say to yourself and how they may be holding you back. Are there any patterns in the way or time when you think and talk to yourself??
Self-liberating beliefs are those that help us to move towards greater freedom in our lives. These beliefs can be positive affirmations or mantras that we can use to help us to shift our focus away from negative thoughts and feelings. Examples of self-liberating beliefs include:??
The process of understanding and recognising self-liberating beliefs begins with self-reflection and examining our thoughts and feelings. We can ask ourselves questions such as: What are my thoughts about myself and my life? Are these thoughts helping me to move towards greater freedom or are they holding me back? What beliefs do I have about myself that could be limiting my potential???
Once we have identified our negative beliefs, we can start to replace them with more empowering and self-liberating beliefs. This can be done through affirmations, visualisations, and reframing our thoughts.??
To succeed with self-liberating beliefs - do you have to believe the internal dialogue, or can you fake it until you make it??
Yes! You can ‘fake it until you make it’! Talk to yourself positively, so when you repeatedly tell yourself something - you start to believe it.??
Instilling healthy habits?
“If you want to change the habit you need to change the environment”?James Clear - Atomic Habits?
Research by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits suggests that when you want to change your life, you need to think small. Real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions such as doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call.?
Clear calls them Atomic Habits and reveals exactly how these minuscule changes can grow into life-altering outcomes.??
Where do self-limiting beliefs stem from??
They are often created in childhood or when we go through a challenging or notable event in our lives. It could be when we experience a threat or a situation where we are vulnerable. These beliefs that we have during these periods attach to us and potentially hold us back from putting ourselves at risk again. ?
Is it only childhood events that shape our beliefs??
No, but it is a significant part. As children we listen to our parents and their comments become our internal dialogue. We internalise phrases that then become the basis of our beliefs. When observations are judgmental the beliefs become hard wired into our brain.? For example: You need to lose weight = I’m fat. You are messy = poor dress sense. You lose confidence to know what is true, and what is not, and so you don’t have the mental capacity to change.??
Self-limiting beliefs in the workplace??
Self-limiting beliefs in the workplace can combine and present as Imposter Syndrome. You may be prone to Pessimism Bias which is where you are self-critical and focus on problems rather than solutions. You might find yourself thinking or saying, ‘my work isn’t good enough’. Or you may be prone to Control Bias which means you believe that you:?
These biases are there to protect us, or so our brain tells us, but they limit how we see ourselves and the world!?
How can we identify and change these self-limiting beliefs???
When you start to hear negativity in your tone, and your internal dialogue is limiting you from moving forward, here are some strategies from our Chief Psychologist Dr. Amanda Potter:??
For example: ‘I am powerful. I can control this situation. I can influence outcomes. I am worthy.’?
Remember! A feeling is just a feeling - it is NOT a truth. Treat yourself as you would a close and important friend, focus on the positives and the potential possibilities and the self-liberating thoughts will prevail.??
The BeTalent Resilience product helps to identify and understand the emotions you experience on a good and bad day, and the impact of those emotions on your propensity to cope. Please follow the link if you would like to learn more about how the BeTalent Resilience assessment and development tools can support your organisation.? ?
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You may also like to listen to episode 34 "Turning Self-Limiting beliefs into Liberating Ones" of The Chief Psychology Officer podcast.?
Listen here: www.thecpo.co.uk . ?